Alec Baldwin Spat Over Age-Old NYC Issue; No One Has ‘Right’ to Public Parking

Alec Baldwin, pictured here will Bill Clinton, has been charged with assault over a parking spat in New York City. (Photo: Instagram)

Alec Baldwin isn’t the first New Yorker to get into a spat over a public parking space, but as a long-time resident of Manhattan he should know better.

It’s an age-old problem in Manhattan, where parking is at a premium. But the same rule applies to celebrities as everyone else–no one has a “right” to a public parking space.

In New York, it’s first-come, first-serve for on-street metered parking on E. 10th St., where Baldwin lives. The idea that a family-member could hold the space until Baldwin’s car arrived doesn’t hold water, even if it’s in front of his $13 million condo.

Baldwin, 60, allegedly was involved in a brawl Friday with Wojciech Cieszkowski, 49, of Pearl River, NY. Cieszkowski claimed Baldwin punched him in the face, an account substantiated by witnesses.

As a result, the actor, known for his Donald Trump impersonations on “Saturday Night Live,” was arrested and charged with misdemeanor assault and harassment.

Cieszkowski had redness on his neck and told cops that Baldwin hit him in the jaw, according published reports.

Ciezkowski parked his black Saab station wagon in the spot and got out to put money in the meter. Baldwin confronted him, according to The New York Post.

The two men exchanged words and allegedly shoved each other before Baldwin hauled off and punched him, according to an eyewitness. Baldwin later denied throwing a punch.

Baldwin reported yelled, ‘F*** off’ during the fight, according to London’s Daily Mail.

Residents who live in Manhattan often treat on-street parking spaces as their own, especially when they are in close proximity to their dwellings.

Because New York City alternates street parking from side to side, dwellers have been known to wait in their cars until 10:30 am., when the switch takes place, to quickly grab another space.

Some people put lawn chairs or other obstacles in parking spaces in an effort to hold them–also illegal.

Commuters like Cieszkowski often grabbed metered spots because parking garages are so expensive.

But the rule is, and always has been, first-come, first-serve for metered parking spaces.

About The Author

TheImproper Staff

Keith Girard is Editor and Publisher of TheImproper, New York City’s cutting edge arts, entertainment pop culture and lifestyle Web magazine. Before that, he was editor-in-chief of Billboard magazine and a reporter for the Washington Post among other media positions.